I had a really great closing about a week ago. The Seller's were keeping possession for a couple weeks (pretty common in our market). The Sellers were to turn possession over on a Thursday, which they did.
This is where the fun starts. The seller gave my buyer the garage door opener. No Keys! The seller didn't use the keys when they lived there so they "assumed" the buyer wouldn't either. The seller left the keys (all of them) locked up in the house. Can you guess what happens next?
The buyer did not have the electric transferred because they didn't plan to move in right away and they thought they would be thrifty and save on the utilities until they were ready to move in. Unfortunately the garage door opener won't work without the electric being on. Here comes some more fun.
The utility company won't turn the electric back on until they can check the breaker box, which is inside the house with the keys.
So who should be responsible for paying a locksmith to Open the door?
I know what I think, I want to know what you think.
Just in case you were wondering, I think the seller made a bad assumption that should cost them the cost of a locksmith. The listing agent has a different opinion.
Hmmm. That's a tricky one.
I guess I would have to lean towards the seller having the responsibility of transferring the keys to the new buyer.
If I had to choose, that would be my take.
Ralph - I too lean towards the seller paying the locksmith. I don't think the seller can say they have delivered the property to the buyer if the buyer can not gain access to the property. Another interesting item in the Purchase Agreement is a clause that says the seller with deliver the property to the buyer and the stated time and date or pay the buyer a penalty of $100.00 per day until possession has been transferred.
I hope you never have to choose.
Bob, I think you and Ralph are spot on. Proof of having turned over possession would require the evidence of keys being delivered. Now getting the Sellers to see that.
What a fun (lol) scenario, Bob! My interpretation of "Seller shall deliver possession of the Property" means they give the Buyer access to the house. Garage access does not count. They should pay for the locksmith, as well as the $100 per day. Now...if they had left the door to the house unlocked...I guess that would have been their way out of needing to deliver keys as a part of the transfer of possession. ;)
Leilani
I am glad to see that a few folks agree with me. The seller hasn't delivered the property until the buyer can actually get inside the house. Here's something quite odd. You would think that my situation would be the exception and not the norm. I shared this story with a colleague in my office who called me the next day and said the exact same thing had just happened to her. She represented the buyer and the listing agent told her it wasn't his problem when everyone realized the keys (all of Them) were locked in the house with NO access to the house.